Humza Yousaf and Ash Regan launch bids to become SNP leader

Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and erstwhile curate Ash Regan person announced they volition basal to instrumentality implicit from Nicola Sturgeon arsenic SNP person and Scotland's archetypal minister.

The pair, who revealed their plans to tally successful the Sunday Mail, are the archetypal to state their candidacy.

Other candidates tipped to basal for predetermination are Finance Minister Kate Forbes and lawman person Keith Brown.

The victor of the contention is owed to beryllium announced connected 27 March.

Announcing his enactment bid successful the Scottish newspaper, Mr Yousaf says helium had been done a "rollercoaster of emotions" since the longstanding archetypal curate and SNP person Ms Sturgeon announced her daze resignation connected Wednesday, aft 8 years.

He says: "You've got to enactment yourself guardant if you deliberation you're the champion idiosyncratic for the job. And I do. This is the apical occupation successful the country, and it needs idiosyncratic who has experience."

Mr Yousaf, who archetypal became an MSP successful 2011, has been a salient fig connected the SNP frontbenches successful each Scottish medication since and has been considered a beardown enactment campaigner for galore years.

But the 37-year-old's clip arsenic justness curate saw him bogged down successful contention surrounding the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Bill - which faced backlash implicit its interaction connected state of expression.

He has besides been criticised for his moving of the NHS successful Scotland, which experienced the hardest wintertime successful its past successful caller months.

Ms Sturgeon has faced repeated calls from absorption parties to sack Mr Yousaf, with waiting times astatine grounds highs and doctors informing that the country's hospitals are not harmless for patients.

On Friday, Mr Yousaf pointed to the grounds wage connection helium made to NHS staff, which helium said was apt to debar onslaught enactment for the adjacent fiscal year.

For her part, Ms Regan tells the Sunday Mail the SNP "need to bring backmost unity, gully a enactment nether definite things and determination past them", adding her content that she is "the idiosyncratic to bash that".

This connection is simply a notation to her views implicit the controversial the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, the SNP's projected reforms to however radical tin alteration their ineligible sex successful Scotland - which was subsequently blocked by the Westminster government.

Before it was approved by a bulk successful Holyrood, the SNP's erstwhile assemblage information curate had discontinue successful protestation implicit it and became an outspoken professional of the legislation.

Writing successful the Sunday Mail, Ms Regan says: "The electorate expect the Scottish Government to absorption connected things that are important to them.

"That means the NHS, which is inactive struggling to get backmost connected its feet aft the pandemic. People expect a archetypal curate to ore connected boosting the economy, creating jobs and helping them woody with the cost-of-living crisis."

After Ms Sturgeon's announcement, Ms Regan, 47, called for SNP members who near the enactment successful the past twelvemonth to beryllium fixed a ballot successful the enactment race.

But this connection was described arsenic "preposterous" by Deputy First Minister John Swinney - who has already ruled himself retired of the contest.

The SNP's Westminster person Stephen Flynn and high-profile MP Joanna Cherry person besides said they volition not tally for the leadership.

Other imaginable candidates said to beryllium weighing up whether to propulsion their hats successful the ringing are Finance Secretary Kate Forbes - who is presently connected maternity permission - and SNP lawman person Keith Brown.

Nominations for the enactment contention volition adjacent astatine noon connected Friday.

A enactment league scheduled for 19 March to sermon the SNP's strategy for winning Scottish independency has been postponed.